Two Colorado residents indicted for allegedly defrauding U.S. of nearly $1M in COVID relief funds

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- Two Coloradoans have been indicted by a federal grand jury after prosecutors say the duo participated in a scheme to defraud the U.S. in nearly $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, 44-year-old Bethany Williams, who lives in Parker, and 46-year-old Robert Crust, formerly from Parker, were indicted earlier this week.

Crust has been charged with five counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering, while Williams has been charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

According to the indictment, Crust and Williams submitted loan applications with false information in order to fraudulently secure nearly $1 million in relief funds from the Small Business Administration for three Colorado businesses Crust owned or managed.

The indictment also accused Crust of providing fake documents, including manipulated tax forms and payroll reports, to inflate his businesses' employee numbers and payroll figures.

Despite the two saying the loans would be used for business expenses, the indictment alleges that Crust and Williams used the funds for personal expenses, such as airline travel and hotels in Las Vegas.

Crust used the loans to purchase a 2012 BMW X5 vehicle, a Jaguar E-PACE vehicle, and a boat, the indictment alleged.

The Attorney's Office said the case is now being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Denver Field Office. 

Anyone with information about possible fraud attempts involving COVID-19 relief can report it by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.